weapons program altogether. two days ago from this podium, president obama reiterated that the threat of a nuclear-armed iran cannot be contained. i very much appreciate the president's position, as does everyone in my country. we share the goal of stopping iran's nuclear weapons program. this goal unites the people of israel, it unites americans, democrats and republicans alike, and it is shared by important leaders throughout the world. what i have said today will help ensure that this common goal is achieved. le israel is in discussions with the united states over this issue, and i'm confident we can chart a path forward together. ladies and gentlemen, the clash between it need not be a clash between progress and tradition. the traditions of the jewish people go back thousands of years. they're the source of our collective values, the foundations of our national strength. at the same time the jewish people have always looked towards the future. throughout history we've been at the forefront of efforts to expand liberty, promote equality, and advance human rights. we championed thes

2008, at the first debate between john mccain and barack obama, which was this date four years ago, the focus was the war. in fact, both wars. >> do you, senator mccain, much has been said about the lessons of vietnam. what do you see as the lessons of iraq? >> i think the lessons of iraq are very clear that you cannot have a failed strategy. thanks to this great general david pa tray yous, they are succeeding and winning in iraq. >> whether we should have gone into the war in the first place. six years ago i stood up and opposed this war. we hadn't finished the job in afghanistan. we hadn't caught bin laden. we hadn't put al qaeda to rest. and as a consequence, i thought that it was going to be a distraction. now, senator mccain and president bush had a very different judgment. >> so that was this date, 40 days out from the election in '08 and 40 days out from the election in '04. in '04 the campaign was consumed with the debate over at least one of our wars. 40 days out from the election in '08, in the midst of the financial meltdown the campaign was consumed with both of the wars. no

what's being used to defeat president obama. newt gingrich. what if obama is so outside our comprehension that only if you understand kenyon anti-colonial behavior can you begin to piece together his actions. and -- >> i would like to have him show his birth certificate, because if he can't, then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics. >> and -- >> i wish this president would love how to be an american. >> and -- >> no one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. >> and this rank twees, obama sympathizes with attackers in egypt. and then last night -- >> he's not a real president. >> tonight on "hardball" we show you the true ugly campaign being run against the president. even in the face of this ugly attack, there are two big new poll numbers running in his direction. we give them to you tonight. let's check the hardball scoreboard. according to a "new york times"/cbs/quinnipiac poll, obama leads romney by ten points. down in florida, the president's lead in the poll is nine, 53-44. the president looks to be opening up a big lead now, even in the fa

this video we have seen before, covered extensively by the media five years ago, when obama first ran for office. those details did not stop the daily caller and some others from asserting the tape would shake up the campaign. >> people ask me whether they thought raves the reason the response was so slow. i said, well, no this administration was color blind in its incompetence. but, but everyone here knows that the disaster and the poverty happened long before the hurricane hit. >> and then the "huffington post" released what they consider their own bombshell tape, showing paul ryan at what his campaign says was on open forum, this was just last year, 2011. ryan's remarks are now being compared to romney's 47% comment. >> the good news is survey after survey, poll after poll, still shows that we are a center-right 70/30 country. 70% of americans want the american dream. they believe the american idea. only 30% want the welfare state. >> and republicans are seizing on what vice president joe biden said at a campaign event in north carolina. that set off another war of words. >> ho

american. >> and -- >> no one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. >> and this tweet, obama sympathizes with attackers in egypt. and then last night -- >> he's not a real president. >> tonight on "hardball" we show you the true ugly campaign being run against the president. even in the face of this ugly attack, there are two big new poll numbers running in his direction. we give them to you tonight. let's check the hardball scoreboard. according to a "new york times"/cbs/quinnipiac poll, obama leads romney by ten points. down in florida, the president's lead in the poll is nine, 53-44. the president looks to be opening up a big lead now, even in the face of this coordinated attack from the right. with me now are mother jones bureau chief and msnbc political contributor david corn and cynthia tucker. i want to talk about the good news for the obama team right now. cynthia, why do you think -- take a minute here -- despite this ugly campaign i've just pointed out in its pattern, its thread, what they are doing to try to delegitimize this president, why is he doing well in the

alex castellanos when voters sense you don't like them. >> well, here in colorado, chris, the obama campaign is certainly not letting people forget those comments from that private fund-raiser back in may. talking to people here, they say they're seeing that ad, seeing the obama ad, that highlights romney's comments over and over and over again in heavy rotation on television here in colorado, perhaps the ultimate swing state. so the obama campaign knows they've got a loaded weapon there and they're firing it time after time after time to much good effect from their point of view. >> chuck, i can't remember anything that's really resounded so well with one side against the other. i guess there was the dui charge in 2000 which was really a self-inflicted wound by one side. here again a somewhat self-inflicted wound although he didn't intend anybody to know about it. this 47%, i think it's a bigger number than the 1% we talked about for the last year or so, the very top people. >> well, here is where i find it made a penetration. so one of the things we have done in our nbc/"wall stre

belief that growing our economy begins with a strong and thriving middle class. >> on one hand, obama's idea, economic patriotism appears to be selling tax hikes on the wealthy, more government spending on infrastructure, also the centerpiece of a new tv ad that has the feel of a campaign closing argument. >> it is time for a new economic patriotism, rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong, thriving middle class. >> but don't let it escape you that this economic patriotism line is also an implicit hit on romney. we first hird it from ted strickland during his speech which was a rough one at the democratic convention. >> mitt has so little economic patriotism that even his money needs a passport. it summers on the beaches of the came and islands and winters on the slopes of the swiss alps. >> when it comes to next wednesday's debate, both are trying to prove their candidate will be the least articulate gap prone guy on stage. >> the president is an eloquent, gifted speaker, he will do just fine. >> mitt romney has an advantage, he has been through 20 debates in

, well, look for the union label, america. barack obama and mitt romney and paul ryan have all seen fit to weigh in on this one football game from monday, on the referees issue. all three men saying that the green bay packers deserve to win that game. the packers got robbed. so even as the packers' agony crossed over into national politics this week, i still have to say that it remains true that the single west political green bay packers moment in history, the best moment of all time in the overlap that exists between the green bay packers and politics is still this moment. >> there are 30 teams, but only one packer organization, and that is the greatest football organization ever in america's history. there are only 187 days before training camp. and 360 days before we go back to miami! whereas the packers are america's real team, and we'll always be winners in the hearts and minds of the people of wisconsin, therefore i, tommy thompson, governor of the great state of wisconsin, do hereby proclaim january 27th, 1998, all over wisconsin, green bay packer day in honor of all of you, the

one of the main goals of this debate camp here in nevada. the obama campaign trying to get the president to give shorter, sharper answers in part so that he can get all of this key points now. they say the president tends to be professorial sometimes. that's what they want to avoid. they want to give direct and crisp answers. also to avoid potentially looking condescending. that's one of the big things they're worried about here. so far president obama has had four mock debates with senator john kerry who is of course no stranger to presidential debates. he also i can tell you had one more practice session last night after president obama had a campaign event in las vegas. now, as you pointed out, both sides are really trying to tamper down expectations. lavishing praise on the other candidate. that is because there's so much at stake in these debates really for most candidates. mitt romney tried to turn his campaign around, but president obama trying to hold on to the narrow lead you mentioned in your introduction. really trying to tamp down expectations. should also point out

/wall street journal poll out tonight. what it shows in addition to an obama leading that's hardening is a deep concern that mitt romney said about that 47% of the country he says can't be counted on to meet its responsibility. it's that part of the country that romney has dismissed as free-loaders, moochers, takers. people, especially veteran families, people retired on social security, regular americans, that is, don't like being dismissed that way, injury added by insult. i'm joined by chuck todd and howard fineman with "the huffington post." the latest poll shows among likely voters the president leads 49% to 46% for romney. that's down net two points from two weeks ago when the president was up by five. to what to you attribute the movement, chuck todd? >> well, first of all, the more important number has always been the president sitting at 49% or 50%. i would go through his job approval rating at 49%, his ballot test at 49%, those converge, and that's what matters and 49% puts you in the, quote, re-elect zone. what's affecting romney, this is something we've been watc

than barack obama. he has to throw some punches. he can't just kind of go in there sort of apologetically and be very gentle with obama. he has to really throw some punches and show people why he's the better candidate. i think a lot of these polls are a little bit overstated. i think the democrats have been oversampled in a lot of polls, and i don't think there's that huge of a gap between romney and obama. nonetheless, he has to make a really strong stand in the first debate. this is probably the most important debate for him at this point in the campaign. >> i don't want to let that statement about polls go unanswered. eugene robinson's piece today is about what he calls the new conspiracy. republicans diluted that there are skewed polls. paul ryan was the latest one to join on the bandwagon last night talking about wisconsin. >> i don't believe that particular poll. i won't get into the methodologies about it. >> they weren't talking about a specific poll in na statement, which sounds like it doesn't matter to him which poll it is but it's tainted. what's your take on t

be trailing after the democratic convention. president obama is pulling ahead in the upper midwest. i think this may be less about -- this is only mitt romney, and mitt has to be mitt and it's all about mitt. this runs deeper than that. this is a sort of recentering of the american electorate we're witnessing. >> let's go back to the political article. it isn't the chair or the ho-hum convention or the looked video or stewart stevens or the improving economy or media bias or the message or mormonism. it's mitt. is it that simple? is the problem at the end of the day that it's the candidate himself? it's mitt romney who perhaps isn't what some thought he would be in terms of a candidate? >> i think it's some of the intangibles that surround the race, but i think largely it's the candidate himself. the problem, as i perceive it, is he's trying to please too many different bosses. he had to attack far to the right craig to win the primary process. he survived it. i thought there was going to be a leftward move towards the center to put him more where he was at the governor of massachu

presidential debate. president obama and millions of americans are calling on billionaire owners to get rid of scab refs and bring back the union workers. tonight i'm camming out mitt romney for attacking some other working professionals. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i think governor romney and a number of folks try to politicize the issue and do a lot of teacher bashing. >> the president goes after mitt romney on education. and right on cue, mitt romney goes after the teachers. >> the teachers union has a responsibility to care for the interests of the teachers. >> former governor howard dean and atlanta mayor react to mitt romney's educated mess. >>> scott walker and paul ryan come out against union busting. eugene robinson and bill roden on why the nfl gets what it paid for. and on national voter registration day, ten million latino voters are in danger of being disenfranchised. we'll bring you the shocking details of a new report that could swing the election to mitt romney. being disenfranchised. we'll bring you the shocking details of a new report that could swing

debate performance, especially in the first debate. number two, he needs help. the obama campaign has to stumble or a current event that reflects badly on the president. i think the first is possibly. governor romney is a very good debater. he won almost all of the republican debates except south carolina. he's adept at debating and disciplined du disciplin disciplined debates and sounds like a president. he'll do well in the first debate. as far as the second thing happening, it's not likely. the obama campaign is doing a good job of staying safe of running out the clock. >> romney's fate is not totally in his hands at this point? >> i think so. the margin has widened enough so he can't make all that ground with a good debate performance. >> the candidates have duelling straig straight-to-camera ads out. >> president obama and i care about poor and middle class families. the difference is my policies will make things better for them. >> if i could sit down with you in your living room or around the kitchen table, here's what i would say. today i believe that as a nation we are moving

, mitt romney and barack obama are holed up in last-minute debate prep for tomorrow night's main event. speaking to a volunteer nevada yaeds, president obama made it sound like a college cram session minus the no doze and pizza. >> basically they're keeping me indoors all the time. it's a drag. they're making me do my homework. >> governor romney, however, may have twice the work load. he'll have two opponents on stage tomorrow, president obama and himself. eugene robinson write in "the washington post" -- it prompts to be an epic clash. mitt romney versus mitt romney. oh. and president obama will be there too. this conundrum of what we'll call the paradox of the mittens, dates back to 1994 when senator ted kennedy dropped this debate heat rock. >> on the question of the choice issue, i have supported the row v raid wade, i am pro choice, my opponent is multiple choice. >> so which bubble will the multiple choice candidate fill in on tomorrow night's test? which mitt will triumph on stage. even members of the conservative establishment aren't sure. bill o'reilly conceded mitt romney is

romney are really for. they're spending an awful lot of time telling you what we, barack obama and joe biden are against and what we've done. and they just attack everything. >> the republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan also has a very busy day. congressman ryan is going to have a rally in ohio in just a couple of hours. more on that in just a moment. this morning, though, he was in derry, new hampshire. >> all these promises were made in the idea of hope and change. and people, it sounded pretty good. but when the rhetoric went aside and the time to act occurred, the ideas are the old ideas that have failed time and again. >> and as we speak, former senator rick santorum is also in ohio, getting ready to stomp for the romney campaign. he is appearing with ohio republican congressman bill johnson who is in a tough reelection race. more on all of this throughout the next hour. but we start -- we start in the buckeye state where paul ryan has the campaign event that we just mentioned scheduled in just under two hours from now. the vice presidential republican nominee has spent

the finger vision. the latest fox news national polls shows president obama up a by 5 points. that's the fox news poll. the gallup daily tracking poll had been close. now gallup shows president obama up a by 6. even the quite ostentatiously republican leaning rasmussen poll gives president obama a 1-point lead nationally. in the states that matter, the obama campaign is ahead. things could change. we've got the debate starting n next week, there's long way to go, it's politics, anything could happen. but right now the obama campaign is solidly and consistently ahead. tactically what that means is the obama campaign has to convert being ahead in people's preferences to actual votes. since they are clearly ahead, a good time to get those votes cast is right now. because thanks to early voting, people are casting ballots right now. so this lead that they have now in the polls can be banked. it can be turned into actual votes while they're still ahead, even if they don't end up being this far ahead by election day. iowa became the first swing state in the nation where voters are actually

state. this is an important state for romney, it's an important state for obama, but claire has definitely got a tough race ahead of her. >> thanks for joining me tonight, karen. >> thanks lawrence. >> tomorrow night, missouri senator claire mccaskill. "the ed show" is up next. >>> can't wait for the debate. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. let me start with the big one, next week's first huge debate between barack obama and mitt romney. no matter what we say now trying to figure this thing out, it's impossible to know what it will feel like when these two men meet, shake hands, and take their positions. the studio where we do "hardball" in washington was the site of the second great debate between richard nixon and john f. kennedy. right before that debate the kennedy brothers arrived to discover something weird had happened. the temperature was meat locker level. so cold they couldn't believe it, and they knew why. kennedy's television adviser went racing to the basement and found nixon's guy standing watch on the thermostat. nixon ha

barack obama. >> i don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of rhetoric. >> i will repeal obama care and replace it with real health care reform. 100% of the kids in our state have health insurance. my state was a leading indicator of what liberals have been trying to do across the country. >> 100% of the kids in our state have health insurance. i was a severely conservative republican governor. i don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country. i'm not familiar with precisely with what exactly i said but i stand by what i said whatever it was. ♪ >>> and it is on. yes, in person voting is under way in the first battleground state of iowa where lines were snaking out the door in many polling places today with voters eager to make their choice for who should occupy the white house for the next four years. indeed, voters in 30 states are now casting ballots either by absentee or in person, including the battlegrounds of new hampshire, north carolina, wisconsin, and vi

congressional black caucus dinner from first lady,my will show obama, on this issue of voter intimidation. >> we can not let anyone discourage us from casting our ballots. we can not let anyone make us feel unwelcome in the voting booth. it is up to us to make sure that in every election, every voice is heard and every vote is counted. that means making sure laws preserve that right. it means monitoring the polls to ensure every eligible voter can exercise that right. olaf's pizza palace gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! pizza!!!!! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ] [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? or double miles on every purchase, every day! every room deserves to look us what our great.te color is? and every footstep should tell us we

may be getting tougher for gop challenger mitt romney. first to iowa. president obama is 49% to mitt romney's 5%. >>> and from the columbia dispatch--this has surrogates from both parties sangled today over who's better equipped to guide the economy over the next four years. >> the president hay has created 4 million new manufacturing jobs. he says he's going to reduce the debt. doesn't say how' goegsing to do it. let's be fair here, governor romney has laid out a vision and a direction for this country. let's hold the president to the same standard as well. >> first of all, we have a deficit plan, it's got health care savings. romney doesn't have a deficit plan. he's got a plan to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires. he's got a 5 trilli$5 trillion. -- another $2 trillion in defense spending. >> just three days into the first presidential debate, meanwhile mitt romney is off to the trail. we have two reports, we begin with nbc's peter alexander, he's with the romney campaign in boston, with a good morning to you, peter. what are you hearing about all the debate preps today. h

advantage president obama held in ohio in three polls last week, worth noting the president has a lead that is outside the margin of error. for governor romney, time that cruel, cruel mistress is slipping away. early voting begins in ohio next tuesday. can he win without the state? if history is any judge no republican in history has won without ohio. according to the latest nbc news battleground map the president is expected to get 243 electoral votes to romney's 191. with eight tossup states. obama win in ohio with its 18 electoral votes would put him at 261 electoral votes, that is just nine away from winning re-election. surprising exactly no one ohio has been a top focus for candidates. while governor romney logged 17 trips to the state this election cycle president obama is making his 13th visit this year alone. earlier this month the democratic ticket made clear just how much ohio means to them. >> if we win ohio, we win the election. >> if we win toledo, we will win ohio. and if we win ohio we'll win this election. >> john heilemann, there has been no shortage of love for the state

chuck todd. let's get to our first reading on -- reads of the morning. president obama makes another trip to ohio. romney definitely needs to put ohio back in play. the president simile wants to put it away. >>> today romney is out with a straight-to-camera ad. the ad itself is a bit of an admission that the 478% comments have done serious damage and the attacks on his personal wealth are also sinking in. take a look at the ad. >> president obama and i both care about poor and middle-class fami families. the difference is my policies will make things better for them. we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good-paying job. >> worth noting, that's his first candidate-to-camera ad. this morning the obama campaign have another ad out hitting on the 47% comment. this is what it looks like. >> when mitt romney dismissed 47% of americans for not pulling their weight, he attacked millions of hard-working people making $25,000, $35,000 a year $40,000 a year. romney paid just 14% l

numbers. president obama still comfortably ahead. in fact, he's picked up a point. he's at 51%. mitt romney is at 43%. both campaigns think this one is getting more difficult by the moment for mitt romney to win. however -- and this is where it gets fascinating -- in virginia, the president's lead has shrunk to just two points, within the margin of error. last month president obama led by five points there. in florida, mitt romney has closed the gap as well. he's now statistically tied in the state of florida. it is a one-point lead. 47%-46%. al hunt, it is fascinating. ohio seems to be on its own as far as the swing states go. but we could show other swing state polls in colorado, in nevada, in north carolina. these states are really getting tight, to such a degree that a great performance by romney tonight could change the dynamic. >> conceivably, but i don't think it's quite that close yet. i think you certainly see it, as you point out, in florida and virginia. you don't see it in ohio. wisconsin it looks like it's actually widening. iowa, it's four to six. and the problem by tak

are living in poverty than when president obama took office. and 15 million more are on food stamps. my plan will create 12 million new jobs over the next four years. we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good paying job. i'm mitt romney, and i approved this message. >> i think that ad just makes my point, they're tone deaf. good morning, it's thursday, september 27th, as you take a look at a wet times square in new york city. i'm in chicago this morning, but with us in new york city with willie geist, our national affairs editor for "new york" magazine and msnbc political analyst, john heilemann. also former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst steve ratner and nbc news chief affairs correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports." >> we have affairs. >> andrea mitchell. and in washington, for "the politico playbook," executive executor jim vandehei. of course, willie, we've got a lot to talk about. let's start really quickly with the refs! >> they'

housing and urban development secretary shaun donovan. initial obama campaign stop in wisconsin. then a debate in the wisconsin senate. >> this week on "newsmakers" we are joined by shaun donovan. welcome. we have a few reporters with us. alan from "wall street journal" and brady from "the washington post." >> the housing bust has been a catastrophic event for millions of american families. this go around we have not heard that much about it from either campaign. why does housing seem not to be a focus this time? >> it is a focus of the president. as you know, there is a broad range of things we have done to try to move the country forward and move the housing situation forward. you have seen president obama talking about the need to open up more refinancing. this is one of the most important things we can do at a time when interest rates just hit 3.4% this week, the lowest 30 year mortgage rate in the history of the country. we have to open it up to more families. that is something the president has talked about. we are taking actions to do that. he is urging congress, the sena

, some i'm behind. you know, all these states that voted for barack obama last time right now the majority of people in those states are saying they don't want to vote for barack obama. >> okay. what's next? barack obama should be ashamed of himself. >> wait a minute. >> go ahead. >> president obama's in new york city for the united nations general assembly. and the clinton global initiative, which we're going to this morning. >> are we really? >> so your boyfriend -- but one of the first orders of business was taping an interview with the women of "the view" alongside the first lady. among the topics, his republican opponents -- >> this guy's not giving serious interviews to anybody -- >> who? >> barack obama, the president of the united states. >> because romney did at a really opportune time. >> but he's going to all of these places, no time for netanyahu, but time for "the view," time for -- >> no time for netanyahu. >> that was good. >> i know. i know. >> wally from "leave it to beaver" was in that. >> was jerry mathers. >> no, that was the beave. >> asked about the newly rel

% unfavorable. in ohio, 34%, now 49%. it is a problem. that has just been the reverse with obama. what do you do? mitt does not have a rose garden. >> charles, you write that in the wake of what is happening in the middle east, romney's "un willingness to go big is simply astonishing." >> it was a great opening this week, with embassies of flame, the ambassador killed, writes -- riots -- that is a collapse of the four-year policy on the middle east. rather than make a serious speech connecting the dots and talking about exactly that, the collapse of the policy or the result of a naive approach to tyrants in the region, he does want to drive-by shot, which was accurate, but it was only one, and then he gives a speech to the clinton global initiative about reforming foreign aid, for god's sake. that is a huge opportunity missed. the core problem is this un willingness to go large and bait and tackle the big issues, which if he did, he could win, but he seems reluctant to do it. >> nina? >> i will not take on charles on the merits of these arguments, although i agree that a major foreign policy

been in the .everse with obama what you do? mitt does nonot have a rose garden. charles, you wrote that in happening inhat is the middleast, "ronny's un go biand foro the larger argument is astonishing." the american embassyf killed, riotster ambassador killed, rides and a tunisian -- of the s the collap the middleolicy on east. making a serious speech connecting the dots result about that, the nie approach to tyrants and region, he does one drive by was accurate, but it one, and then he gives the clintonon global reforming about aid, for godod's sake. opportunityge missed. his une problem is to go large and tackle the big issues, which if did, he could win. t he seems reluctant tdo it. >> nina? >> i will not take controls on merits of all the arguments, that a majorree -- i don'ty speech have to change but he would make him like a more serious person some ways. 47%i really think that was legal. now, he has not lost, and barack not great campaiaigner, mitt has been practing and he is a go campaigner- debater. because the 47% video was genuine, becausit was talking and not knowing he tap

, it's actually related -- >> no, it's not. >> president obama leads romney by 10 percentage points in ohio. no republican has lost and then won the presidency. the president is up nine points in florida and has opened up a 12-point lead in pennsylvania. in the same poll, president obama leads mitt romney in his handling of the economy in all three states. 51% of polled voters say the president would do the better job. >> okay, let's go back to the last slide, guys. and mark halperin, let's talk to you. i know you agree with me that the media is liberal. guess what? republicans have somehow managed to win despite that media liberal bias. you've said it repeatedly on this show. so despite that fact, mitt romney is not getting crushed in all three of these states because of the liberal media bias. what's happening there, and why is he losing so badly, especially in ohio? >> well, it's very unlikely the president will win those states by those margins, but these numbers are not out of line dramatically with private polling and some other public polling. i think the biggest problem righ

the elegance of one president obama. ahead of things they keep expectations down. after things, they raise the bar. to the debt and how they sell this out far, the republican congressman from the fine state of florida. we are told, congressman, this debt will be a big issue. although there is great risk to that, a lot of folks say that it makes people's eyes glaze over. there is a good strategy, actually, to that. what tour make of that? >>guest: afternoon, neil. it has to be a huge issue. this debt we have is not only threatening our economic security but it is threatening our national security. when you understand that here in less than four years we have gone from $10.6 trillion in debt to over $16 trillion in debt, the debt per person in the united states america has gone from $34,000 to close to $51 $51,000. we need to look at things such as the gasoline prices which on inauguration day for president obama was $1.84. now we are close to $4. think of the tens of thousands that have been spent for families to keep up with the gas prices, the high commodity prices we see in t

and obama campaigns agree on this. >> it is about the four or five percent of people who haven't been paying much attention to the campaign who haven't made up their minds. >> reporter: american university professor bob lehman. >> anything is possible in a debate. but in order for it to have real impact, romney would have to take risks and obama make mistakes. >> reporter: the risks for romney moving to the center in order to appeal to centrist voters risking setting off the right. still for for the ongoing ad war. >> people say romney should come in with zingers and try to make obama lose his cool. >> reporter: zingers make debate history. dan quail was comparing himself to jack kennedy. >> senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> but here's the punch line of that. who won the election? bush and quail. >> reporter: but staying cool under attack? >> here you go again. >> reporter: you get points. being too cool. >> if kitty dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer. >> no, i don't, bernard. >> reporter: his numbers dropped immediately afte

president obama but my anger is when they went into the negotiations for health care, they took the public auction off the table. to me, that is the foundation of it. like she said about medicare for all, there is a choice. that is real choice of when you can pay for your government health care. host: thank you for your call. guest: you raised a number of important points and it is great to hear your voice from west virginia. i am looking forward to going there soon. we have to include more voices and all the debates prefers presidential debate is coming up in denver and i think we will be in virginia tech before the debate. i know this was the side of the killing of 32 people. the brady campaign against gun violence has waged a campaign to get jim lehrer of pbs who will be posted the first presidential election to ask the question about gun violence. another. you don't hear much debate between the republican candidate mitt romney and president obama -- we will open up the debate and expand the debate as we so often do on "democracy now, "to a third party candidates. we will be in d

between president barack obama and governor mitt romney. >>reporter: megan, a number of political pundits say tonight's debate from colorado could go a long way towards separating these two candidates currently lock inside a very tight race. the campaigns, though, are downplaying the expectations between the squareoff involving president obama and governor romney. both candidates have spent the past two days prepping with their campaign advisers, focusing on the likely questions they'll face as tonight's topics include domestic policy, especially the economy. governor romney has been preparing in denver and says tonight's debate will not be about finding a definitive winner. >> in my view, it's not so much winning or losing, or even the people themselves, the president or myself, it's about something bigger than that. these debates are an opportunity for to discuss a pathway forward for america that we would choose. >>reporter: the president has been practicing outside oflation. to his supporters he remains confident, but he's not underestimating his opponent. >> governor romney,

. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. when president obama and mitt romney step on the stage behind me tomorrow night, it's going to be the first time they've seen each other face to face in nearly five years. to give you a sense of just how crucial his performance is, romney aides brought podiums into his hotel conference room late today to help him simulate the real thing. fueling up for an afternoon study session today. >> governor, are you ready for tomorrow? >> i'm getting there. >> reporter: mitt romney, who has been for weeks practicing zingers to sharply critique the president, may have gotten help from an unlikely ally. vice president joe biden campaigning today in north carolina. >> how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class has been buried the last four years. how in lord's name can they justify raising their taxes? >> reporter: the romney campaign quickly seized on that comment. arguing the president's policies have hurt the middle class. taking a breather from his preparations outside las vegas today, the president visited the hoover dam. >> it's spectacular an

oh, sorry! excuse us. shhh-shh! >>> face to face. president obama and mitt romney are set to square off tonight in the first of three debates before the presidential election. >>> attack investigation. lawmakers are raising questions about security at the u.s. consulate in benghazi and whether the death of ambassador chris stevens and three others could have been prevented. >>> bullying backlash. a television anchor responds to a viewer who criticizes her for being overweight. >> attacks like this are not okay. >> this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, october 3, 20 2012. good morning. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. round one tonight. this evening president obama and mitt romney face off in the first of three scheduled debates. the topic tonight in denver domestic affairs including the economy, health care reform and imgrmigration and the clock is ticking. the election is less than five weeks away and the stakes are high. susan mcginnis is in washington. >> reporter: first debates get the most attention of all of them and the first 30 minutes are said to be the most